Friday, 14 August 2009

What a painful sight is to see all the Xabi Alonso's posters taken down in the Liverpool FC shops. He's no longer with us. He's gone. I wonder when will be the next time we'll see him. Will we play Real Madrid again this season? Will he be given an ovation? Will he be booed?If there was such a thing as a fall-out with Rafa Benitez, Xabi has to admit that he's the player he is today thanks to him. The penalty in Istambul and the from-his-own-half screamer against Newcastle established himself as a Reds legend and one of the most important members of the squad, only behind Steven Gerrard and, later for some reason, Fernando Torres.Liverpool fans righfully prayed for Xabi not to leave for Juventus last year. He obliged to these prayers with the most outstanding season he could have given us. A very respectful way to say goodbye to us all.I don't envy him at all as now he has to play alongside Cristian Ronaldo haha!And mentioning him, we have to point out that yes indeed, Manchester United has lost its most important and efficient player. We, instead, have lost a family member, a loved one.I am very sad to see him go. Of all the times that I saw him in The Quarter, walking down Hardman Street or playing in the park with his son, is watching him holding the fort in Anfield that I'm going to miss the most.I stand by my statement: Xabi Alonso is forever Red. To the place that saw you grow as a footballer, to the town that saw the birth of your son, to the city that you called home for five years, we will always look forward to welcome you back.

Yet another season starts, and there's already a few changes that will have bookies busy and pundits chatty even before kick-off.

Let's take for instance the Big Four.

Manchester United, current champions, have lost their biggest asset in Cristiano Ronaldo. This will make a lot of players quite chirpy about the season... off the record, of course. However, is it really that bad? The same was said when Beckham and others left Old Trafford, but still the team managed to do "quite well" after their departures. I do not doubt this is the case again. Sir Alex Ferguson will definitely build up yet another strong team around another of his stars (maybe Rooney now?). But there is definitely a change in the atmosphere. The usual "respect" that allowed Mancehster United to score goals before the other team had woken up or after they went to sleep will be considerably reduced, for this year at least. Michael Owen IS a smart buy. A team like Liverpool needs someone that can hang around and score in stalemate 0-0 games.

Arsenal don't have much to offer either. Lost Adebayor and Kolo Toure, and Fabregas is always at risk of abandoning ship. Don't think they'll be contenders this year, but might get far in cups again if some of the key players come back from injury.

I think this team will be strong in a couple of years when all the youngsters have grown and gained experience.

The latter is something Chelsea does not lack of. This is their strongest team in years and probably predict a cup win but not the league again. Even though they have a new manager, their style of play is much negative (Parking the bus anyone?) and an Italian coach does not help the cause. Like my flatmate Paul says, if he comes in with a Serie A state of mind, it'll take a while for this team to kick off a Premier League contention, but if he's done his homework, they'll mean trouble to more than one.

They already have their first match. The Charity Shield is a great example of this. Chelsea won a very tied match against a Manchester United without Cristiano Ronaldo. So, either the red devils were very strong or Chelsea are not as strong as they pretend to show the world? They ended up winning in penalties. One year for them, next one for us. They have hardly changed their team which means an advantage over the other troubled four, but still. It's the same Chelsea that bottled up Premiership and Champions League in more than one ocassion.

And there we have Liverpool. Their best campaign in years and definitely the best league performance under Rafa Benitez. There is the "little" hiccup that is losing Xabi Alonso. In terms of importance, Liverpool relied more on him than Manchester on Ronaldo. This is a big blow. However, having Glen Johnson in the team means more attacking ideas and trusting Rafa that Aquilani is a good buy, should be a great season for Liverpool. People keep going on about the last 3 months of the season last year. If they play like that, not for the entire season but maybe even 5 months only, They'll get the league. This is their chance. The other Big Three have a way to be beaten and Liverpool discovered that last year. Just win 3 of those stalemates 0-0 and they get it.

As a Liverpool fan, I did ask a "Wish Tree" in the Bluecoat a couple of years ago for them to win all the cups on their sight. I'm still waiting, and I know it'll happen in my lifetime. Hopefully this year?

But now, let's wait till the whistle blows and enjoy yet another great season!!

Thursday, 25 June 2009

Wednesday, 24 June 2009

This result has come as a shock for the majority of us. And by us I mean the ones that have been watching football for over the years and even though we know these kind of results are not impossible, they are still rather scarce. I cannot blame an American fan for believing this could happen before the match started, mainly because all those who called him" crazy" are now eating their words.Yes, let us admit that we wanted a Spain v Brazil final. The champions of Europe against the champions of South America, the only two federations to have won a FIFA World Cup. Well, it is not to be. Not because Spain played terribly, but because the USA played superbly. Yes, they made a few rookie mistakes and got a third player sent off in this tournament. But, would they really have scored two goals if they were not worthy of reaching the Confederations Cup final? I certainly do not think so. Spain had a lot of holes; their midfield was inexistent. The genius of Xavi and Fabregas were nowhere to be seen. And what use it is to have David Villa and Fernando Torres in the front if nothing else works? If the balls do not reach them?I cannot blame you if you are tempted to say that the US won because Spain played badly. But again, I repeat. Did they really? Did they not have more shots to goal than Spain in the first half? Were their defence not absolutely brilliant, neutralising the strikers and jumping higher than anyone else? Did they not play as a team that was "going for it" and actually giving some kind of importance to this competition? There you have Brazil, which is the team with most World Cups and arguably the best football nation on Earth, still playing for it. Because it matters, yes it does. And the Americans knew that. Did Spain know that?I am gutted they lost. I was rooting for them to win this competition easily, even dancing Brazil around in the final. But it was not to be. Not favourites for the World Cup in 2010? Too early to tell. If something, this "shocking" result reminds us that nothing is written in life or football. Maybe losing this match, and the chance to break Brazil's record of consecutive unbeaten games, will take them off that "favourites" list and turn them into the formidable and deserving team that won the European Cup in 2008, yet again.But let's see. My bet is on Brazil, but another "shock" cannot harm the game. If more, it just shows us how beautiful Football is. The USA has proven they can profit from lost causes, just like many other great teams have done in the past.